Deadly Games - Cate Noble [57]
Maddy. If Minh Tran had intended to kill her, why transport her by helicopter? While choppers were Tran’s preferred method of transportation between his various lairs and places of business, their expense was catching up. Tran had supposedly grounded most of his fleet as his revenue streams went as dry as his supply of SugarCane.
“Any idea where the helicopter went after leaving the warehouse?” Travis asked
“Not yet. I’m working it. Wheels turn slower here.”
Travis nodded, reminding himself that he was in not only a foreign country, but also a suspicious one. The Thai government wasn’t pleased with the rumored reports that two U.S. spies had not only been held without their knowledge, but subsequently rescued too.
Then there was the business of Dr. Rufin. Every country wanted Rufin; the rewards offered for his capture were rapidly approaching the ridiculous. Greed-fueled competition was dangerous.
Travis’s carefully orchestrated countermeasures had to make it appear that the U.S. was actively searching for Rufin as well. Which had been another task of Luc’s: To follow up on supposed leads on Dr. Rufin’s whereabouts.
“How soon do you expect to have word on Tran’s helicopter?” Travis asked.
“Today. Maybe tomorrow.”
Travis slid an envelope of money across the table. “Speed is critical. I don’t want this woman harmed.”
Luc cocked his head to one side. “She is special to you?”
“Yes. Very special. Here’s something else.” Travis handed Luc a small black cell phone. “This is equipped with a satellite booster. You should get a signal almost anywhere. My phone numbers are programmed in along with those of two friends. The moment you get any news on Maddy, call me. If you can’t reach me directly, call the others and explain we’re working together. They will know what to do.”
Luc examined the phone, then hefted the envelope. “I have something for you as well.” He opened his backpack and removed two plastic bags containing trash. Disposable coffee cups, plastic silverware, and duct tape that appeared to have been cut.
“What is this?” Travis asked.
“The man you seek who kidnapped Dr. Rufin,” Luc explained. “I believe I found the apartment where he kept Rufin. Maybe you get fingerprints?”
Travis looked at the items. As evidence they were next to useless. It was a long shot that fingerprints, much less DNA, had survived, but he’d leave no stone unturned.
According to Dr. Rufin’s statement the man who had abducted him in Bangkok after murdering Rufin’s friend Bohdana had been a westerner. It seemed Bohdana had met the man while working in Indonesia with the late Dr. Zadovsky. The Agency was very interested in this mystery man.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Travis said.
As soon as Luc left, Travis sent the bagged items to be analyzed, then returned to his temporary office and began doing research on the warehouse Luc had mentioned.
A beeping sound caught his attention. Rocco’s cell phone. Travis pulled it from his pocket and checked the display.
TEXT MESSAGE FROM POWER1. That was the screen name used by Minh Tran’s messenger.
Eager, Travis opened it. The new message was cryptic.
AN EYE FOR AN EYE. YOUR CHILD FOR MINE. WILL ACCEPT FORMULA IN EXCHANGE FOR WOMAN. FORMULA MUST BE VERIFIED FIRST.
Travis reread the message and groaned as the meaning became clear. Your child for mine. Maddy was pregnant and Minh Tran had assumed the child was Rocco’s. And worse, Tran sought to avenge his son’s death by harming Maddy’s child.
Maddy and Travis’s child.
Travis hit REPLY and typed in a message.
HARM THE WOMAN OR HER CHILD AND ALL DEALSARE OFF. WILL PROVIDETWO FORMULAS. NEW ONE IS SUPERIOR. NEED 48 HOURS MINIMUM.
Minh Tran’s offer to accept Rufin’s formula, the one for SugarCane, meant Tran had realized that kidnapping Rufin was impossible. It also underscored Tran’s desperation to get more ’Cane into the supply pipelines.
Travis hoped the promise of a second drug formula would pique Tran’s greed. He forwarded the messages to Catalina. Then he picked up his own cell phone and